Arsenal's Mikel Arteta has said that Scottish football prepared him for life in the Premier League.

The Spaniard, who spent two seasons with SPL outfit Rangers between 2002 and 2004 after arriving from Barcelona, insists that the move was vital in his development as an all-around footballer.

"I was really impressed with the stadium and everything that went with it," he told Arsenal's official website.

"At that moment, Rangers were a big club, with big players, playing in the Champions League. It wasn't easy to find another club like that so I took the chance to go there.

"Scottish football was tough, really tough. It was really physical, people got at you and I had to improve on that a lot. I think I did that to get to the level that the Premier League required of me."

Arteta made 174 appearances for Everton in seven seasons with the club, before joining Arsenal in the summer.